I'm wondering if the depth of the cab was primarily to fit the display. It's actually pretty loyal to the original in terms of how deep CRT cabs were...so was the depth used to mimic the original or to fit the slanted angle of the LCD?
I wanted an authentic looking cab, and found build plans that match the original cabinet (
https://www.classicarcadecabinets.com/x-men-4-player.html). Then I made an accurate SketchUp model of it, and started to try out various screens and how that would look and fit. A rotated 16:9 screen seemed the only way possible to get close to a 25" 4:3 picture. If this had not fit, then I would have not build this cab, but would have probably opted to do a Tempest build instead
Note that I only a few actual changes to the design:
1. I pushed the back panel slightly inwards, as otherwise the pocket screws would end up interfering with the t-molding.
2. I added casters at the back
3. The control panel construction differs, as the original design was crazy complicated
In the end I do need most of this depth to make the screen fit, though I could probably removed 5cm or so, but then the original artwork would have no longer fit ...